Infant&#39;s swivel chair



Jan. 12, 1960 A. E. TREBILCOCK INFANTS SWIVEL CHAIR Filed May 29, 1957INVENTOR. ANNA E- TREBILCOCK ATTORNEYS rest members.

United States Patent INFANTS SWIVEL CHAIR Anna E. Trebilcock, Normandy,Mo. Application May 29, 1957, Serial No. 662,413

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-69) This invention relates in general to a swivelchair, and in particular, to a universally movable swivel chair forinfants which comprises a tiltable seat movably mounted on a supportmember.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide anew type of chair for infants. Another object of the invention is toprovide a chair in which the infant is free to move within limits, canplay safely, is protected from injury, and is prevented from fallingout. Another object is to provide a chair with a universally movableseat for an infant, said chair having stop limiting means which arecompletely inaccessible to the infant and which are sufliciently ruggedto withstand the severe movement.

Another object is to provide a swivel chair which comprises a supportingmember and a tiltable seat member mounted for universal but limitedmovement therein. Another object is to provide a chair which is designedfor quick and forceful movement by the child, but which protects thechild at all times and allows the feet of the child to reach the floorat all times.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the ar rangements andcombinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In theaccompanying drawings which form part of this specification and whereinlike numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an infants swivel chair embodying thepresent invention,

Fig. 2 is a front horizontal view of the swivel chair shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the chair, with the curved bottom partiallybroken to show the connection between the curved bottom, the guard railand the seat, and

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 ofFig. 1 showing the seat tilted to one of its maximum tilted positions.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that theembodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises aninfants swivel chair I having a supporting memberl and a tiltable seatmember 3. The supporting member 2 has three or more, preferably four,upstanding legs 4 which are relatively short so that the feet of theinfant are always capable of reach ing the floor. If desired, thebottoms of the legs 4 may be provided with rubber or plastic tips 5 offlat metallic The legs 4 are connected by curved sup ports 6 which areeither welded to the legs or are integral therewith. The curved supports6 are formed from segments of a circle, and may have a smooth orpolished upper surface if desired to contact the seat member 3. Thecurved supports 6 intersect substantially at a central point between andequidistant from the legs 4, which point may be on or near the floor,and have an upstanding round peg 7 suitably secured thereto, preferablyby welding, at the intersection. Suitable braces 5 are pro vided betweenthe lower portions of the legs 4 and the curved supports 6.

The tiltable seat member 3 comprises a curved member 9, preferably inthe form of the major portion of a semisphere, which supports a flatseat 11 suitably secured to the curved member 9 by means of screws .13.The seat 11 is positioned above the top of the legs 4. The curvedportion 9 is hollow and is provided with a circular opening 14 in thecenter of the bottom portion thereof, said opening being adapted toreceive the peg 7 therethrough. The peg 7 extends into and through theopening 14 a predetermined distance. The plane of the opening 14 issubstantially parallel to the seat 11.

The seat 11 is provided with a circumscribing holding means or guardrail 15 having a protective upper margin 16 and an opening 17 throughwhich the childs legs may extend. The lower portion of the guard rail 15is positioned between the curved bottom 9 and the seat 11, which isprovided with a pad member 18. The lower portion of the guard rail 15 isprovided with inturned flanges 10 struck therefrom. The seat 11 isretained in position on said flanges 10 by bolts 12, as well as by thescrews 13. The opening 17 is also suitably padded, as shown at 19, andthe central portion of the opening 17 may be provided with a verticalstrap 20 adapted to fit between the childs legs to prevent the childfrom slipping through said opening 17 and out of the chair 1. Ifdesired, the strap 20 may be made so that it is removable, as shown inFig. 4-.

The guard rail 15 may be provided with holes or openings for decorativepurposes and ventilation if desired and may be so constructed as toreceive a removable tray 21 preferably at a point directly above saidleg opening 17 at the front of the chair so that articles such as toysor food may be placed within the reach of the infant. The tray 21 isattached to the guard rail 15 in some suitable fashion, preferably bymeans of hooks 22. The tiltable seat 3 simply rests upon the supportingmember 2 by gravity and does not necessarily have to be fixedly securedthereto, but is free to tilt or move in any direction within limits asbest shown in Fig. 4. The amount of tilt is controlled by the size ordiameter of the hole 14 in the bottom of the semisphere support 9, whoseoutside surface is smooth, and by the diameter of the peg 7. The seat isfree to move in any direction until the edge 23 of the opening 14 abutsagainst the upstanding peg 7. Thus, it is apparent that the seat is freeto rotate or pivot in any direction with the curved smooth bottomportion 9 sliding on upper portions of the curved supports 6substantially along their entire length. The seat 11 is always above thetop of the legs 4 regardless of the degree of tilt thereof. The radiusof curvature of the curved bottom 9 is equal to approximately one-halfthe diameter of the seat .11.

In practice, it has been found that legs about 8 inches high and a railabout 8 inches high provide a satisfactory arrangement for smallinfants, the diameter of the hole 14 being about three inches. Thesupport member 2 is slightly wider than the tiltable seat 3 to preventthe chair from tipping over. Obviously, the dimensions are subject tochange depending upon the size of the infant or child for whom theswivel chair is designed. In certain instances, the dimensions may besuch that the chair will be suitable for use by adults, in which eventthe holding means will be replaced by a conventional back rest or thelike. However, the curved bottom, curved support means, and tiltlimiting means can remain substantially as shown.

This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of theexample of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosurewhich do not con-v stitute departures from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What I claim is: I

1. A swivel chair for infants comprising a supporting member having aneven number of legs adapted to rest on the floor, the oppositelypositioned legs having concave supports connected therebetween, saidcurved supports intersecting at a point equidistant from said legs,projecting means extending upwardly from said curved supports at saidintersection, a tiltable seat member slidably positioned in said curvedsupports, said tiltable seat member having a relatively fiat seat and acurved bottom extending downwardly therefrom slidably positioned on saidcurved supports, said curved bottom being semispherical in shape andsaid supports between opposite legs being semicircular in shape, saidcurved bottom contacting said curved supports substantially over theirentire length, said curved bottom having an opening in the bottomthereof, said projecting means extending upwardly through said openingin the bottom of said tiltable seat member for limiting the tilting ofsaid member, said seat having circumscribing guard means extendingupwardly therefrom, said guard means having an opening therein adjacentto said seat to permit the legs of an infant to extend therethrough.

2. A swivel chair for infants comprising a supporting member having fourlegs adapted to rest on the floor, the oppositely positioned legs havingconcave curved supports connected therebetween, said curved supportsintersecting at a point equidistant from said legs, a peg extendingupwardly from said curved supports at said intersection, said peg beingbelow the level of the tops of said legs, a tiltable seat memberslidably positioned in said curved supports, said tiltable seat memberhaving a relatively fiat seat and acurved bottom extending downwardlytherefrom slidably positioned on said curved supports, said curvedbottom being semispherical in shape and having a radius of curvaturesubstantially equal to one-half the diameter of said fiat seat, saidsupports between opposite legs being semicircular in shape, said curvedbottom contacting said curved supports substantially over their entirelength, said curved bottom having a circular opening in the bottomthereof, the plane of said circular opening being substantially parallelto the plane of said seat in said tiltable seat member, said pegextending upwardly through said circular opening in the bottom of saidtiltable seat member for limiting the tilting of said member, said seathaving circumscribing guard means extending upwardly therefrom, saidguard means having an opening therein adjacent to said seat to permitthe legs of an infant to extend therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

